Substituted tryptamines, phenalkylamines and related compounds

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to novel substituted tryptamine and phenalkylamine and related compounds, pharmaceutical compositions thereof and methods of using said compounds and compositions for a number of pharmaceutical indications including (but not limited to): 1. central nervous system and psychiatric disorders (e.g., sleep disorders, epilepsy and other convulsive disorders, anxiety, psychiatric diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, fever); 2. chronobiological-based disorders (e.g., jet lag, delayed sleep syndrome, shift-work, seasonal affective disorder); 3. endocrine indications (e.g., contraception and infertility, precocious puberty, premenstrual syndrome, hyperprolactinemia, growth hormone deficiency); 4. cancer and other proliferative diseases; 5. immune system disorders and conditions associated with senescence; 6. ophthalmological diseases; 7. animal breeding (e.g., regulation of fertility, puberty, pelage color).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to novel substituted tryptamine andphenalkylamine and related compounds, pharmaceutical compositionsthereof, and methods of using said compounds and compositions for anumber of pharmaceutical indications, including (but not limited to): 1.central nervous system and psychiatric disorders (e.g., sleep disorders,epilepsy and other convulsive disorders, anxiety, psychiatric diseases,neurodegenerative diseases, fever); 2. chronobiological-based disorders(e.g., jet lag, delayed sleep syndrome, shift-work, seasonal affectivedisorder); 3. endocrine indications (e.g., contraception andinfertility, precocious puberty, premenstrual syndrome,hyperprolactinemia, growth hormone deficiency); 4. cancer and otherproliferative diseases; 5. immune system disorders and conditionsassociated with senescence; 6. ophthalmological diseases; and 7. animalbreeding (e.g., regulation of fertility, puberty, pelage color).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The novel compounds described herein are structurally related to theknown naturally occurring substance, melatonin. Melatonin,5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptamine, is a hormone produced primarily by thepineal gland. The synthesis and secretion of melatonin exhibit acircadian rhythm that changes with the seasons and with age, e.g.,pubescence and senescence. The rhythm is the result of both endogenousmechanisms and environmental cues, most notably, the exposure oforganisms to light, which inhibits melatonin synthesis and secretion.Thus, melatonin levels are high at night and low during the day. Thereis very strong evidence that melatonin is important for the regulationof a variety of neural and endocrine functions, especially those thatexhibit circadian and circannual rhythmicity.

Novel compounds related to melatonin, but with pharmacological orpharmacokinetic profiles different from melatonin, are likely to beimportant new pharmaceuticals. For examples, see U.S. Pat. Nos.5,151,446 of Horn et al., 5,194,614 of Adrieux et al. and 5,276,051 ofLesieur et al. There is evidence suggesting both melatonin agonists andantagonists would be of potential therapeutic use.

Melatonin has been implicated in many human disorders. Some disordersare known to be linked to chronobiologic abnormalities. Melatonin hasbeen administered to re-synchronize circadian rhythms that are out ofphase with the local environmental cues; i.e. chronobiological therapy.For example, sleep/wake disorders associated with rapid crossing of timezones (jet lag), changes in work shifts, or those experienced by blindpeople can be treated with melatonin or melatonin analogs (see U.S. Pat.Nos. 4,600,723 and 4,665,086 of Short et al., and 5,242,941 of Lewy etal.).

However, it appears that melatonin also has direct sedative/hypnoticproperties in normal human subjects. Several groups of investigatorshave demonstrated sleepiness following intravenous, oral and intranasaladministration of melatonin to humans (e.g. Waldhauser et al.,Psychopharmacology, 100: 222-226, 1990; Vollrath et al., Bioscience29:327-329, 1981; Dollins et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 99:1824-1828,1994). It appears that melatonin does not have the side-effect liabilityassociated with current hypnotics, e.g. amnesia, "hangover", dependenceand tolerance.

Sedative/hypnotic agents often exhibit other useful properties, such asanxiolytic and antiseizure actions. Melatonin has been demonstrated in anumber of rodent experimental paradigms to have both anxiolytic (Golusand King, Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav. 15:883-885, 1981; Guardiola et al.,Pharmacol. Biochem Behav. 41:405-408, 1992, Naranjo-Rodriguez et al.,Soc. Neurosci. Abst. 18:1167, 1992; Golombek et al., Eur. J. Pharmacol.237:231-236, 1993) and antiseizure activity (Brailowsky,Electroencephalo. Clin. Neurophysiol. 41:314-319, 1976; Fariello et al.,Neurology 27:567-570, 1977, Rudeen et al., Epilepsia 21:149-154, 1980;Sugden, J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 227:587-591, 1983; Golombek et al.,Eur. J. Pharmacol. 210:253-258, 1992). In humans with panic disorder, asevere anxiety problem, melatonin secretion is abnormal (Mcintyre etal., Am. J. Psychiat. 147:462-464, 1990).

Melatonin may play a role in other psychiatric conditions, particularlydepression, but also mania and schizophrenia (see Dubocovich"Antidepressant Agents", U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,352; Miles and Philbrick,Biol. Psychiatry 23:405-425, 1988; Sandyk and Kay, Schizophr. Bull.16:653-662, 1990). In some instances, psychiatric disorders may haveunderlying chronobiologic etiologies (e.g. seasonal affective disorder)and are definite candidates for melatonin therapy.

Melatonin is involved in the regulation of circadian and circannualchanges in body temperature. Administration of exogenous melatonin tohumans lowers core body temperature (Strassman et al., J. Appl. Physiol.71:2178-2182, 1991; Cagnacci et al., J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.75:447-452, 1992). Melatonin may also possess analgesic properties(Sugden, J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 227:587-591, 1983). Therefore,melatonin-like compounds may be useful as an alternative tonon-steroidal anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic drugs, such as aspirin,acetaminophen and ibuprofen.

It is known that melatonin levels decrease with advancing age (Sack etal., J. Pineal Res. 4:379-388, 1986; Waldhauser et al., J. Clin.Endocrinol. Metab. 66:648-652, 1988; Van Coevorden et al., Am. J.Physiol. 260:E651-661, 1991) which may contribute to some disorders.Neurodegenerative diseases often associated with aging, such asAlzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, may be treated with melatonergiccompounds (Maurizi, Med. Hypotheses 31:233-242, 1990; Sandyk, Int. J.Neurosci. 50:37-53, 1990; Skene et al., Brain Res. 528:170-174, 1990).Sleep disorders in the elderly recently have been shown to respond tomelatonin treatment (Haimov and Lavie, unpublished findings). Evenosteoporosis may have a melatoninergic component (Sandyk et al., Int. J.Neurosci. 62:215-225, 1992). In fact, melatonin has been suggested to bean anti-aging, anti-stress hormone (Armstrong and Redman, Med.Hypotheses 34:300-309, 1991; Reiter, Bioessays 14:169-175, 1992). Thismay be due to its action as a free radical scavenger (Poeggeler et al.,J. Pineal Res. 14:151-168, 1993) or its interaction with the immunesystem (Maestroni and Conti, J. Neuroimmun. 28:167-176, 1990; Fraschiniet al., Acta. Oncol. 29:775-776 1990; Guerrero and Reiter, Endocr. Res.18:91-113, 1992).

Related to the above, are the findings that melatonin has oncostaticproperties in a variety of cancers, the most studied being its effectson estrogen receptor positive breast cancers (Blask and Hill, J. NeuralTransm. Suppl. 21:433-449, 1986; Gonzalez et al. Melanoma Res.1:237-243, 1991; Lisoni et al., Eur. J. Cancer 29A:185-189, 1993;Shellard et al., Br. J. Cancer 60:288-290, 1989; Philo and Berkowitz, J.Urol. 139:1099-1102, 1988; see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,196,435 of Clemens etal. and 5,272,141 of Fraschini et al.). It is also possible thatmelatonin has antiproliferative effects on noncancerous cells as well,and may be of use to treat benign tumors and proliferative diseases suchas psoriasis.

A major portion of research on melatonin has been devoted to studyingits effects on reproduction, particularly in seasonally-breeding species(such as hamsters and sheep), in which melatonin is known to regulatefertility and puberty, hibernation, and coat color. These effects haveobvious significance for animal husbandry use. Reproductive endocrineuses in humans for melatonin include: contraceptive and fertilityagents, treatment for precocious puberty, treatment for premenstrualsyndrome and hyperprolactinemia (Fevre et al., J. Clin. Endocrinol.Metab. 47:1383-1386, 1978; Parry et al., Am. J. Psychiatry 144:762-766,1987; Waldhauser et al., J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 73:793-796, 1991;Bispink et al., J. Pineal Res. 8:97-106, 1990; Cagnacci et al., J. Clin.Endocrinol. Metab. 73:210-220, 1991; Voordouw et al., J. Clin.Endocrinol. Metab. 74:107-108, 1992; see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,855,305 and4,945,103 of Cohen et al., and 5,272,141 of Fraschini et al.) It islikely that melatonin compounds may also be useful in other endocrineconditions, particularly those involving growth hormone (Cramer et al.,Arzneim.-Forsch. 26:1076-1078, 1976; Wright et al., Clin. Endocrinol.24:375-382, 1986; Paccotti et al., Chronobiologica 15:279-288, 1988;Valcavi et al., Clin. Endocrinol. 39:193-199, 1993).

In addition to the pineal gland, the eye also synthesizes melatonin.Recently melatonin has been implicated in the control of intraocularpressure and may be of use in glaucoma (Samples et al., Curr. Eye Res.7:649-653, 1988; Rhode et al., Ophthalmic Res. 25:10-15, 1993). Researchon the function of melatonin in the eye may uncover additional noveltherapeutic uses.

It is clear that there exists a broad range of therapeutic uses formelatonin. Accordingly, it is of continuing interest to identify novelcompounds that interact with melatonergic systems as potentialtherapeutic agents. These compounds may offer improved pharmacokinetic(i.e. longer duration, greater potency) and/or pharmacodynamic (i.e.greater efficacy) actions to those of melatonin. This inventionaddresses the need for more therapeutically effective compounds thanmelatonin.

Citation or identification of any reference in this section of thisapplication shall not be construed as an admission that such referenceis available as prior art to the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of the present invention is directed to compounds havingthe following structure: ##STR1## wherein: R¹, R², R³ and R⁴ areindependently hydrogen, halogen, hydroxy, alkoxy or alkyaryl;

R⁵ is hydrogen, alkyl, alkylaryl or acetyl;

R⁵ is hydrogen, alkyl, alkylaryl or halogen;

n is 0 to 2;

m is 1 to 2;

R⁷ is ##STR2## l is 0 to 2; R⁸ is hydrogen, ##STR3## or R⁹ ; R⁹ isalkylene, aryl, alkylaryl, alkylcycloalkyl, ##STR4## R¹⁰ is cycloalkyl,CF₃, CH₃, ##STR5## the carbon site at position α is a chiral center, andmay be S or R; R¹¹ and R¹² are hydrogen;

R⁶ and R⁷ are optionally connected together to form a cyclic group; and

R¹³ is alkyoxy, hydroxy, hydrogen, thioalkyl, alkylcycloalkyl or##STR6## n' is 0 to 2; the carbon site at position 2 of the pyrrole ringis a chiral center, and may be S or R.

with the proviso that if R⁶ is hydrogen, R⁷ is --NHR⁸ and

R⁸ is ##STR7## then R¹³ is not hydrogen; if n is 2, then R¹⁰ is notcycloalkyl CF₃ or ##STR8## where n' is 1 to 2; if m is 1, R⁹ is notalkylene; optionally, R⁶ and R⁷ are connected together to form a cyclicgroup, so as to form, for example, the following structure: ##STR9##where R⁸ is hydrogen or ##STR10## and R¹⁴ is hydrogen, alkyl, halogen,alkoxy, aryl or aklylaryl.

Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to compoundshaving the following structure: ##STR11## wherein: R¹, R², R³ and R⁴ areindependently hydrogen, halogen, hydroxy, alkoxy or alkyaryl;

n is 0 to 2;

R⁷ is ##STR12## l is 0 to 2; R⁸ is hydrogen, ##STR13## or R⁹ ; R⁹ isalkylene, aryl, alkylaryl, alkylcycloalkyl, ##STR14## R¹⁰ is cycloalkyl,CF₃, CH₃, ##STR15## n' is 0 to 2; R¹¹ and R¹² are hydrogen; and

R¹⁵ is hydrogen, halogen, hydroxy, alkoxy or alkylaryl,

Preferred compounds of the present invention are those of the formula:##STR16## wherein: R¹, R², R³ and R⁴ are independently hydrogen, halogenhydroxy or alkoxy;

R⁵ is hydrogen;

R⁶ is hydrogen or halogen;

x is 0or 1;

R¹¹ and R¹² are independently hydrogen, --NO₂, alkoxy, CF₃, alkyl,halogen or R¹¹ taken together with R¹² is ##STR17## and R¹³ is hydrogen,thioalkyl, alkylcycloalkyl or ##STR18## with the proviso that if R⁶ ishydrogen, R¹³ is not hydrogen.

Further preferred compounds of the present invention are those of theformula ##STR19## wherein R¹, R², R³ and R⁴ are independently hydrogenor alkoxy;

R⁵ is hydrogen;

R⁶ is hydrogen;

R¹⁰ is ##STR20## R¹¹ and R¹² are hydrogen; and R¹³ is alkyoxy orhydroxy; the carbon site at position α is a chiral center, and may be Sor R.

Still further preferred compounds of the present invention are those ofthe formula ##STR21## wherein R¹, R², R³ and R⁴ are independentlyhydrogen or halogen,

and R¹⁰ is alkoxycycloalkyl, ##STR22## n is 0 or 1 R¹¹ and R¹² areindependently hydrogen, halogen, alkyl, CF₃, NO₂ or R¹¹ taken togetherwith R¹² is ##STR23## and, R¹³ is hydrogen; and

R¹⁵ is hydrogen.

Specifically preferred are the following compounds:

N-(p-Methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine;

N-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)-5-methoxytryptamine;

N-(p-methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl)-5-methoxytryptamine;

6-methoxy-1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline;

1-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline;

2-acetyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline;

N-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)-2-phenylethylamine;

N-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)-5-hydroxytryptamine;

N-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)-5-fluorotryptamine;

N-(2-phenylethyl)-phenylacetamide;

3-(5-tetrazolyl)indole;

1-benzyl-3-(1-benzyl-5-tetrazolyl)indole;

1-benzyl-3-(2-benzyl-5-tetrazolyl)indole;

1-benzyl-3-(5-tetrazolyl)indole;

1-benzyl-3-[5-2-methyl-1,3,4-oxadiazolyl)indole;

N-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)-6-fluorotryptamine;

N-(p-methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl)-5-fluorotryptamine;

N-(4-Fluorobenzyloxycarbonyl)-5-fluorotryptamine;

1-acetyl-3-[5-2-methyl-1,3,4 oxadiazolyl)indole;

6-Benzyloxy-1-phenyl-1,2,3,4-carboline;

N-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)-5-chlorotryptamine;

N-(2-p-Fluorophenylethyl)phenylacetamide;

N-(2-m-Fluorophenylethyl)phenylacetamide;

N-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)-2-(m-fluorophenyl)ethylamine;

N-Benzyloxycarbonyl-2-(p-fluorophenyl)ethylamine;

N-(p-Fluorobenzyloxycarbonyl)-2-(m-fluorophenyl)ethylamine;

N-(p-Fluorobenzyloxycarbonyl)-2-(p-fluorophenyl)ethylamine;

N-(p-Trifluoromethylbenzyloxycarbonyl)-2-(p-fluorophenyl)ethylamine;

N-(p-Trifluoromethylbenzyloxycarbonyl)-2-m-fluorophenyl)ethylamine;

N-(p-Chlorobenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine;

N-(p-Methylbenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine;

N-(p-Chlorobenzyloxycarbonyl)-2-(p-fluorophenyl)ethylamine;

N-(p-Methylbenzyloxycarbonyl)-2-(p-fluorophenyl)ethylamine;

N-(3,4-Dimethylbenzyloxycarbonyl)-2-(p-fluorophenyl)ethylamine;

N-(p-Isopropylbenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine;

N-(3,4-Dimethylbenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine;

N-(p-Trifluoromethylbenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine;

N-(p-Nitrobenzyloxycarbonyl)-5-fluorotryptamine;

N-(3,4-methylenedioxybenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine;

N-(3,4-Methylenedioxybenzyloxycarbonyl)-2-(p-fluorophenyl)ethylamine;

N-[(S)-α-Methylbenzyloxycarbonyl]tryptamine;

N-(p-Isopropylbenzyloxycarbonyl)-2-(p-fluorophenyl)ethylamine;

N-Cyclopropanemethyloxycarbonyl)-5-methoxytryptamine;

N[(R)-α-methylbenzyloxycarbonyl]-tryptamine;

2-Bromo-N-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine;

N-[(S)-(-)-1,4(nitrophenyl)-2-pyrrolidinemethyloxycarbonyl]tryptamine;

p-Fluorophenyl-N-[(S)-(-)-1,4(nitrophenyl)-2-pyrrolidinemethyloxycarbonyl]ethylamine;

N-(Cyclohexylmethyloxycarbonyl)-4-fluorophenylethylamine;

N-Cyclopentylmethyloxycarbonyl-5-fluorotryptamine;

N-Cyclobutylmethyloxycarbonyl-5-fluorotryptamine;

2-formamido-5-methoxy-β-acetamidopropiophenone;

N-(Benzenesulfonyl)tryptamine;

N-(1-(R)-Methoxy-1-phenylacetyl)tryptamine;

N-(1-(S)-Methoxy-1-phenylacetyl)tryptamine;

N-Cyclopropylmethyloxycarbonyltryptamine;

2-Bromo-N-cyclopropylmethyloxycarbonyltryptamine;

2-Bromo-5-fluoro-N-benzyloxycarbonyltryptamine;

N-[2-(m-fluoro)phenylethyl]-p-trifluoro-methylphenyl acetamide;

2-benzyltryptamine;

N-[(S)-mandeloyl]tryptamine;

N-[(R)-mandeloyl]tryptamine;

N-(m-Fluorophenylethyl)-4-fluorophenylacetamide;

N-(p-fluorophenylethyl)-4-fluorophenylacetamide;

2-benzyl-5-methoxytryptamine;

1-[5-Fluoro-3-(2'-ethyl)indolyl]-3-benzylurea;

Di-[N-(methyleneoxycarbonyl)-tryptamine]-1,4-ciscyclohexane; and

di-[N-(methyleneoxycarbonyl)-tryptamine]-N-octane.

Another embodiment of the invention is directed to compositionscomprising a compound of formulas I or II for indications including (butnot limited to): 1. chronobiological-based disorders (e.g., jet lag,delayed sleep syndrome, shift-work, seasonal affective disorder); 2.central nervous system and psychiatric disorders (e.g., sleep disorders,epilepsy and other convulsive disorders, anxiety, psychiatric diseases,neurodegenerative diseases, fever); 3. endocrine indications (e.g.,contraception and infertility, precocious puberty, premenstrualsyndrome, hyperprolactinemia, growth hormone deficiency); 4. cancer andother proliferative diseases; 5. immune system disorders and conditionsassociated with senescence; 6. ophthalmological diseases; and 7. animalbreeding (e.g., regulation of fertility, puberty, pelage color).

Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method oftreating the above described indications by administering atherapeutically effective amount of one or more of the novel compoundsof formulas I or II to a subject suffering from such indication and alsofor enhancing the actions of other hypnotics, sedatives or anxiolytics.

Preferred is the method of inducing sedation with a therapeuticallyeffective amount of one or more of the compounds of the presentinvention to a subject requiring sedation, or who may benefit fromsedation (e.g., prior to surgery or invasive medical procedures, or onewho is suffering from stress).

Another preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a methodof treating various sleep disorders by administering a therapeuticallyeffective amount of one or more of the compounds of the presentinvention to a subject suffering from one or more of such disorders,including insomnia.

Another preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a methodof treating disorders of chronobiology, such as sleep cycle disturbancesand anxiety resulting therefrom, including jet lag, workshift changesand time zone changes.

Another preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a methodof treating various psychological or psychiatric conditions relating toanxiety or depression.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a bar graph showing the effect of various intraperitonealdosages of melatonin on the duration of hexobarbital-induced sleep inmice.

FIG. 2 is a bar graph showing the effect of various intraperitonealdosages of N-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-5-fluoro tryptamine, the composition ofIP-100-9, on the duration of hexobarbital-induced sleep in mice.

FIG. 3 is a bar graph showing the effect of various orally administereddosages of melatonin on the duration of hexobarbital-induced sleep inmice.

FIG. 4 is a bar graph showing the effect of various orally administereddosages of N-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-5-fluoro tryptamine, the composition ofIP-100-9, on the duration of hexobarbital-induced sleep in mice.

FIG. 5 is a bar graph showing the effect of various melatonin dosagesupon the ability of a mouse to remain upon a rotating rod.

FIG. 6 is a bar graph showing the effect of various dosages ofN-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-5-fluoro tryptamine, the composition of IP-100-9,upon the ability of a mouse to remain upon a rotating rod.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As used herein and in the claims, the term "alkyl" means straight orbranched hydrocarbon chain having 1 to 20 carbon atoms and includes, forexample, methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, secondarybutyl, tertiary butyl, pentyl, isopentyl, neopentyl, hexyl, heptyl,octyl, 2-ethylhexyl, 1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl, nonyl, decyl, dodecyl,tetradecyl, hexadecyl, octadecyl and eicosyl.

As used herein and in the claims, the term "alkoxy" means straight orbranched chain alkyl attached by an oxygen molecule, having 1 to 10carbon atoms, and includes, for example, methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy,isopropoxy, butoxy, isobutoxy, secondary butoxy, tertiary butoxy,pentyloxy, isopentyloxy, hexyloxy, heptyloxy, octyloxy, nonyloxy anddecyloxy.

As used herein and in the claims, the term "alkylcycloalkyl" means a C₃to C₁₀ saturated hydrocarbon ring with an alkylene substituent of C₁ toC₆ linear or branched carbon atoms and includes methylenecyclopropyl,methylenecyclobutyl, methylenecyclopentyl, etc. The term "alkylene,refers to linear or branched chain alkylene groups having 1 to 10 carbonatoms and includes for example, the groups methylene, dimethylmethylene,ethylene 2,2-dimethylpropylene, 2-dimethylbutylene and the like andincludes benzyl, 2-phenylethylene, 3-phenyl-2,2-dimethylpropylene, etc.

As used herein and in the claims, the term "halogen" means fluorine,chlorine, bromine and iodine.

As used herein and in the claims, the phrase "therapeutically effectiveamount" means that amount of novel compounds or compositions of thepresent invention necessary to administer to a host to achieve thedesired results for the indications including (but not limited to): 1.chronobiological-based disorders (e.g., jet lag, delayed sleep syndrome,shift-work, seasonal affective disorder); 2. central nervous system andpsychiatric disorders (e.g., sleep disorders, epilepsy and otherconvulsive disorders, anxiety, psychiatric diseases, neurodegenerativediseases, fever); 3. endocrine indications (e.g., contraception andinfertility, precocious puberty, premenstrual syndrome,hyperprolactinemia, growth hormone deficiency); 4. cancer and otherproliferative diseases; 5. immune system disorders and conditionsassociated with senescence; 6. ophthalmological diseases; 7. animalbreeding (e.g., regulation of fertility, puberty, pelage color), or toachieve the desired enhanced actions of other known pharmaceuticalcompositions, such as hypnotics, sedatives or antidepressants.

SYNTHESIS

The compounds of formulas I and II provided by the present invention canbe prepared by methods generally known to those skilled in the art or bynovel methods described herein.

Pharmaceutically suitable salts of the compounds of the invention can beprepared by reacting the free acid or base forms of these compounds witha stoichiometric amount of the appropriate base or acid in water or inan organic solvent, or in a mixture of the two; generally, nonaqueousmedia like ether, ethyl acetate, ethanol, isopropanol, or acetonitrileare preferred. Lists of suitable salts are found in Remington'sPharmaceutical Sciences, 17th ed., Mack Publishing Company, Easton, Pa.,1985, p. 1418, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

Preparation of the novel compounds of the invention will be illustratedby the following nonlimitative specific examples.

N-(p-Methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine

To a suspension of 0.70 g (4.7 mmol) of tryptamine in 2.5 mL ofdeionized water and 0.65 mL (4.7 mmol) of triethylamine in a roundbottom flask, equipped with an argon inlet, was added 1.45 g (4.7 mmol)of 2-(4-methoxybenzyloxycarbonyloxyimino)-2-phenylacetonitrile (Moz-ON,Aldrich) in 5 mL of dioxane. During the first 5-10 minutes of stirring,the mixture became clear. This mixture was stirred for an additional 6hours and diluted with 150 mL of saturated sodium chloride solution andextracted with 2×50 mL of ethyl acetate. The organic extracts were driedover anhydrous sodium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo. The residue waspurified by flash chromatography using hexane:ethyl acetate (1:1) as aneluent to yield (81%) N-(p-Methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine as whitesolid, mp. 108°-109° C.

¹ H NMR (CDCl₃) δ7.7-6.8 (m, 9H), 5.1(s, 2H), 3.8(s,3H), 3.5(q,2H),2.9(t, 2H).

IR (KBr) 3400-3260, 1620, 1510, 1420, 1230 Cm⁻¹. Analysis calculated forC₁₉ H₂₀ N₂ O₃ : C, 70.35; H, 6.21; N, 8.63 Found: C, 70.45; H, 6.36; N,8.61.

N-(p-Methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine hydrochloride

To a solution of 2 g of N-(p-methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine in 100mL of ethyl acetate, 20 mL of saturated ethereal solution of HCl gas wasadded. The solvent was evaporated and the residue was dried in a vacuumdesicator which resulted in 2.08 g ofN-(p-methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine hydrochloride as a tan solid.

¹ H NMR (Acetone-d₆) δ7.8-6.9 (m, 9H), 5.1 (s, 2H), 3.8 (s, 3H), 3.5 (q,2H), 3.0 (t, 2H).

IR (KBr) 3400, 3310, 2900, 1690, 1600, 1540, 1510, 1450, 1250 Cm⁻¹.

N-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)-5-fluorotryptamine

To a strirred solution of 0.83 g (4-6 mmol) of 5-fluorotryptamine and0.48 g (0.55 mL, 5 mmol) of nmethylmorpholine in 10 mL of DMF at 0° C.was added dropwise 0.72 mL (5 mmol) of benzylchloroformate. The reactionmixture was allowed to stir at 0° C. under argon. After 1.5 hours ofstirring, the reaction mixture was diluted with water and extracted withethyl acetate. The organic extracts were washed with saturated sodiumchloride, dried over anhydrous Na₂ SO₄, and concentrated under vacuum.The resulting residue was purified by flash chromatography usinghexane:ethyl acetate (2:1) as an eluent to yield 1 g (68%) ofN-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)-5-fluorotryptamine as a white solid. mp 104°-105°C.

¹ H NMR (CDCl₃) δ7.4 (s, 5H), 7.39-6.85 (m, 4H), 5.15 (s, 2H), 3.5 (q,2H), 2.9 (t, 2H).

IR (KBr) 3500-3100, 1690, 1510, 1480, 1450, 1250 Cm⁻¹. Analysiscalculated for C₁₈ H₁₇ FN₂ O₂ : C, 69.22; H, 5.49; N, 8.99; F, 6.08Found: C, 69.19; H, 5.57; N, 8.95; F, 6.21.

N-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)-6-fluorotryptamine

To a strirred solution of 2.0 g (11.2 mmol) of 6-fluorotryptamine and1.2 mL (11.2 mmol) of nmethylmorpholine in 20 mL of DMF at 0° C. wasadded dropwise 1.6 mL (11.2 mmol) of benzylchloroformate. The reactionmixture was stirred, at 0° C. under argon, for 1.5 hours. Thereafter,the reaction mixture was diluted with water and extracted with ethylacetate. The ethyl acetate extracts were washed with saturated sodiumchloride, dried over anhydrous Na₂ SO₄, and concentrated under vacuum.The resulting residue was purified by flash chromatography usinghexane:ethyl acetate (2:1) as an eluent to result in 2.5 g (71%) ofN-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)-6-fluorotryptamine as a white solid. mp 72°-74° C.

¹ H NMR (CDCl₃) δ67.4 (s, 5H), 7.6-6.8 (m, 4H), 5.2 (s, 2H), 3.5 (q,2H), 2.9 (t, 2H).

IR (KBr) 3500-3200, 1700, 1510, 1480, 1450, 1250 Cm⁻¹. Analysiscalculated for C₁₈ H₁₇ FN₂ O₂ : C, 69.22; H, 5.49; N, 8.99; F, 6.08Found: C, 69.29; H, 5.25; N, 8.74; F, 5.86.

N-(P-Methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl)-5-fluorotryptamine

To a strirred suspension 1.4 g (7.8 mmol) of 5-fluorotryptamine in 5 mLof water and 1.1 mL (7.8 mmol) of triethylamine was added 2.5 g (7.8mmol) of 2-(4-methoxybenzyloxycarbonyloxyimino)-2-phenylacetonitrile(MOZ-ON) and 10 mL of dioxane. The reaction mixture was stirred at roomtemperature for 1 hour under argon, diluted with water, and extractedwith ethyl acetate. The organic extracts were washed with saturatedsodium chloride, dried over anhydrous Na₂ SO₄, and concentrated undervacuum. The residue was purified by flash chromatography, over silicagel, using hexane:ethyl acetate (2:1 and later 1:1) as eluents toprovide 1.7 g (63%) of N-(p-methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl)-5-fluorotryptamineas an off-white solid. mp 118°-119° C.

¹ H NMR (CDCl₃) δ7.5-6.8 (m, 8H), 5.15 (s, 2H), 3.8 (s, 3H), 3.5 (q,2H), 2.9 (t, 2H).

IR (KBr) 3380, 3300) 1680, 1530, 1440, 1270 Cm⁻¹. Analysis calculatedfor C₁₉ H₁₉ FN₂ O₃ : C, 66.65; H, 5.59; N, 8.18 Found: C, 66.92; H,5.69; N, 8.11.

N-Benzyloxycarbonyl-2-(para-fluorophenyl)ethylamine

Benzylchloroformate (12.2 g, 72 mmol) was added dropwise to a stirredsolution, at 0° C., of 4-fluorophenylethyl amine (9.42 g, 72 mmol) in 50mL of DMF. The mixture was stirred for an additional 3 hours at the sametemperature. The reaction was quenched with water and extracted with3×100 mL of ethyl acetate. The combined ethyl acetate extracts werewashed with 2×100 mL of 5% HCl, water and dried over Na₂ SO₄.Evaporation of the solvent resulted in a yellowish solid which waspurified by recrystallization from ethyl acetate-hexane to furnish 8.6 g(46% yield) of N-Benzyloxycarbonyl-2-(parafluorophenyl)ethylamine. mp51°-52° C.

¹ H NMR (CDCl₃): δ7.4 (s, 5H), 7.2 (m, 4H), 5.2 (s, 2H), 4.9 (br s, 1H),3.4 (q, 2H), 2.8 (t, 2H).

Analysis calculated for C₁₆ H₁₆ FNO₂ : C, 70.33; H, 5.90; N, 5.13 Found:C, 70.23; H, 5.93; N, 5.14.

N-(para-Trifluoromethylbenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine

A solution of 1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole (2.03 g, 12.5 mmol),p-trifluoromethylbenzyl alcohol (2.2 g, 12.5 mmol) and THF (100 mL) wasstirred for 2 hours. The reaction was monitored by TLC (silica gel,hexane:ethylacetate; 2:1) to examine the complete disappearence ofp-trifluoromethylbenzyl alcohol. To this solution, 2.0 g (12.5 mmol) oftryptamine was added and the mixture was stirred overnight. The reactioncontents were diluted with methylene chloride (100 mL). The organiclayer was washed with 5% 3×100 mL of HCl, water (3×100 mL) and driedover anhydrous MgSO₄. Upon evaporation of the solvent, under vacuum,crude N-(para-Trifluoromethylbenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine was obtainedas a solid which was crystallized from etherhexane mixture (2.6 g, 57%yield). mp 92°-94° C.

¹ H NMR (CDCl₃): δ8.3 (br s, 1H), 7.5 (m, 9H), 5.2 (s, 2H), 3.5 (q, 2H),2.9 (t, 2H).

Analysis calculated for C₁₉ H₁₇ F₃ N₂ O₂ : C, 62.98; H, 4.73; N, 7.73Found: C, 62.93; H, 4.74; N, 7.68.

N-(para-Nitrobenzyloxycarbonyl)-5-fluorotryptamine

To a stirred solution of 3.0 g (18.5 mmol) of 5-fluorotryptamine and2.06 g (20.4 mmol) of ns methylmorpholine in 100 mL of methylenechloride at 0° C. was added dropwise a solution of 4.31 g (20.4 mmol) ofp-nitrobenzylchloroformate in 20 mL of methylene chloride. The reactionmixture was stirred at 0° C. under argon, for 1.5 hours and thenovernight at room temperature. The reaction mixture was filtered toremove the morpholine hydrochloride salt. The methylene chloridesolution was washed with 5×100 mL 5% HCl and 3×100 mL water, dried overanhydrous Na₂ SO₄. After the removal of the solvent under vacuum, ayellow solid was obtained which was crystallized from hot toluene (3.5g, 53% yield). mp 93°-94° C.

¹ H NMR (CDCl₃) δ8.3 (d, 2H), 7.8-6.9 (m, 7H), 5.2 (s, 2H), 3.3 (q, 2H),2.9 (t, 2H).

IR (KBr) 3380, 3300, 2890, 2820, 1700, 1520, 1480, 1450, 1330, 1250Cm⁻¹. Analysis calculated for C₁₈ H₁₅ FN₃ O₃ : C, 60.67; H, 4.24; N,11.79 Found: C) 60.58; H, 4.60; N, 11.69.

N-(Cyclohexylmethyloxycarbonyl)-4-fluorophenylethyl amine

A solution of 4.87 g (30 mmol) of carbonyldiimidazole and 3.43 g (30mmol) of cyclohexylmethanol was stirred, under nitrogen and at roomtemperature, for 2-4 hours or the time until the TLC (silica gel;hexane-ethylacetate, 4:1) analysis indicated a complete disappearance ofcyclohexylmethanol in the mixture. To this reaction mixture, a solutionof 4-fluorophenylethyl amine (4.18 g, 30 mmol) in methylene chloride (5mL) was added and stirred overnight. The TLC analysis indicated acomplete disappearence of 4-fluorophenylethyl amine. The reactionmixture was extracted with 4×50 mL of methylene chloride. The combinedextracts were washed with 5% HCl (2×50 mL), water, dried over MgSO₄, andconcentracted under vacuum. The solid was crystallized from hexane tofurnish 5.0 g of N-(Cyclohexylmethyloxycarbonyl)-4-fluorophenylethylamine (59% yield). mp 44°-45° C.

¹ H NMR (CDCl₃) 67.18 (m, 4H), 5.0 (t, 1H), 3.95 (d, 2H), 3.45 (q, 2H),2.87 (t, 2H), 1.68 (d, 5H), 1.21 (m, 6H).

IR (KBr) 3320, 2910, 2850, 1685, 1540, 1510, 1255, 1220, 1160, 860 Cm⁻¹.Analysis calculated for C₁₆ H₂₂ FNO2: C, 68.79; H, 7.94; N, 5.01 Found:C, 68.85; H, 7.93; N, 5.02.

2-Bromo-N-cyclopropylmethyloxycarbonyltryptamine

2-Bromo-N-cyclopropylmethyloxycarbonyltryptamine was prepared in twosteps:

Step 1: Preparation of N-cyclopropylmethyloxycarbonyltryptamine:

A solution of 11.7 g (69.3 mmol) of carbonyldiimidazole and 5.0 g (69.3mmol) of cyclopropylmethanol in 150 mL of THF was stirred, undernitrogen and later at room temperature for 4-5 hours or the time untilthe TLC (silica gel; hexane-ethylacetate, 4:1) analysis indicated acomplete disappearance of cyclopropylmethanol in the mixture. To thisreaction mixture, a solution of tryptamine (11.12 g, 69.3 mmol) in THF(5 mL) was added and stirred overnight. The TLC analysis indicated acomplete disappearence of tryptamine. The solvent was removed and theresidue was redissolved in methylene chloride (450 mL), washed with 5%HCl (4×100 mL), water, dried over MgSO₄, filtered. The filtrate wasswirled with 50 g of silica gel, filtered and concentracted undervacuum. The solid was crystallized from hexane-methylene chloride tofurnish 13.6 g of N-cyclopropylmethyloxycarbonyltryptamine (75% yield).mp 88°-90° C.

¹ H NMR (CDCl₃) δ8.4 (br s, 1H), 7.8-7.0 (m, 5H), 4.9 (br s, 1H), 3.9(d, 2H), 3.6 (q, 2H), 3.0 (t, 2H), 1.1 (m, 1H), 0.5 (m, 2H), 0.3 (m,2H).

IR (KBr) 3300, 1660, 1540, 1460, 1250, 1145, 1025, 740 Cm⁻¹. Analysiscalculated for C₁₅ H₁₈ N₂ O₂ : C, 69.7; H, 6.97; N, 10.84 Found: C,69.83; H, 7.02; N, 10.83.

Step 2: 2-Bromo-N-cyclopropylmethyloxycarbonyltryptamine

To a cold (-10° C.) solution of 5.5 g (21 mmol) ofN-cyclopropylmethyloxy-carbonyltryptamine in 10 mL of glacial aceticacid, under nitrogen, 3.8 g (21 mmol) of N-bromosuccinimide was added inone lot. The mixture was stirred at -10° C. for 1.5 hours. The reactionwas quenched with 200 mL of water and extracted with 3×100 mL ofmethylene chloride. The methylene chloride extracts were washed with2×100 mL water, saturated NaCl solution, and dried over anhydrousmagnesium sulfate. The solvent was removed under vacuum to furnish 6.3 gof a crude mixture which showed several spots on the TLC plate (silicagel plate eluted in hexane-ethyl acetate, 1:1 mixture). Repeated columnchromatography over silica gel and elution with hexane-ethyl acetate(1:1) resulted 0.3 g of the pure product. mp 124°-126° C.

¹ H NMR (CDCl₃ -90 MHz) δ8.5 (br s, 1H), 7.8 (s, 1H), 7.3 (s, 2H), 7.1(s, 1H), 4.8 (br s, 1H), 3.9 (d, 2H), 3.5 (m, 2H), 2.9 (t, 2H), 1.1 (m,1H), 0.5 (m, 2H), 0.3 (m, 2H)

IR (Neat): 3300, 1660, 1540, 1460, 1450, 1280, 1260, 1140, 970, 880 Cm⁻¹Analysis calculated for C₁₅ H₁₇ BRN₂ O₂ : C, 53.43; H, 5.08; N, 8.31;Br, 23.70 Found: C, 53.64; H, 5.10; N, 8.28; Br, 23.54.

The Synthesis of N-[(R & S)-mandeloyl]tryptamine:

The general procedure for making amide from mandelic acid and tryptaminewas not successful. A novel method for the synthesis of such amides wasdeveloped. This method consists of the following two steps. In the firststep, an activated ester of mandelic acid and3-hydroxy-1,2,3-benzotriazin-4(3H)-one (HO-Dhbt, available from AldrichChemical Co.) was made. In the second step, the activated ester wasreacted with the tryptamine to result in the required N-[(R &S)-mandeloyl]tryptamine.

Activated Ester of (R & S)-mandelic acid and HO-Dhbt:

Mandelic acid (2.0 g, 13.14 mmol) was dissolved in 50 mL of THF in around bottom flask and the solution was cooled down to -15° C.Dicyclohexylcarbodimide (DCC, 2.71 g, 13.14 mmol) was added to the flaskand the reaction was stirred for 5 minutes at -15° C. Solid HO-Dhbt(2.14 g, 13.14 mmol) was added to the reaction flask and the contentswere stirred at -10° C. for 30 minutes and at 0° C. for 4 hours. Afterstanding overnight at 0° C., the solid precipitates of dicyclourea wereremoved by filtration. After the removal of the solvent, the oil wascrystallized from hexane-ether. The analyses for the activated esterswere as follows:

    ______________________________________                                        Activated ester                                                               of HO-Dhbt  mp, °C.                                                                          Rf, TLC                                                 ______________________________________                                        R-Mandelic acid                                                                           125-127   0.88   (EtOAc--MeOH; 7:3)                               S-Mandelic acid                                                                           127-129   0.5    (EtOAc--MeOH; 1:1)                               ______________________________________                                    

N-[(R & S)-mandeloyl]tryptamine:

During stirring, tryptamine (1.07 g, 6.7 mmol) was added to the aboveHO-Dhbt-ester of the mandelic acid which was dissolved in THF (25 mL).The reaction contents were stirred, under nitrogen, at room temperaturefor 3 hours. The solvent was evaporated under vacuum and the resultinglight brown solid was dissolved in dichloromethane. The dichloromethanesolution was successively washed with 1×100 mL of 5% HCl, 1×100 mL of 5%sodium bicarbonate solution, 2×100 mL of deionized water, 1×100 mL ofsaturated sodium chloride solution, and dried over anhydrous magnesiumsulfate. The solid, obtained after the evaporation of solvent, wascrystallized from ethyl acetate-hexane mixture. The analyses for theN-[(R & S)-mandeloyl]tryptamine were as follows:

    __________________________________________________________________________                              Elemental Analysis                                  N-[mandeloyl]-            Calcd    Found                                      tryptamine                                                                              mp, °C.                                                                     Rf, TLC    C  H  N  C  H  N                                    __________________________________________________________________________    N-[(R)-mandeloyl]-                                                                      142-143                                                                            0.5        73.45                                                                            6.16                                                                             9.52                                                                             73.31                                                                            6.31                                                                             9.51                                 tryptamine     (EtOAc--MeOH; 1:1)                                             N-[(S)-mandeloyl]-                                                                      141-143                                                                            0.55       73.45                                                                            6.16                                                                             9.52                                                                             73.54                                                                            6.18                                                                             9.44                                 tryptamine     (EtOAc--MeOH; 1:1)                                             __________________________________________________________________________     PG,34

By adjusting the synthetic parameters described above, a variety ofnovel substituted compounds of the present invention, having therapeuticproperties, may be obtained.

Examples of compounds to which the present invention is directed arerepresented below in Tables I-V. As demonstrated by the data provided inthese Tables, for example, the compounds of the present inventionpossess unexpectedly high degrees of activity.

All compounds included in the following table were tested in thehexobarbital-induced loss of righting reflex assay, a screen forsedative activity. Male Swiss Webster mice, 20-30 g, were injectedintraperitoneally (10 ml/kg) with either vehicle (5% dimethylformamide,10% polyoxyethylene-sorbital monooleate [Tween 80], water) or 3, 10, 30or 100 mg/kg test compound in vehicle. Ten mice were used for eachgroup. Ten minutes later the mice received 120 mg/kg hexobarbital (in10% Tween/water, 10 ml/kg i.p.). Once the righting relex was lost,animals were placed on their backs on "Thermal Barrier" pads (24°-25°C., Vetco). Upon recovery of the righting reflex, the duration of timesince hexobarbital administration was recorded. Dose groups werecompared using a one-way analysis of variance (SigmaStat™ statisticalsoftware). If significance was reached (p≦0.05), theStudent-Newman-Keuls test was applied to determine which groups weresignificantly different from the vehicle control group. In the tables,the lowest dose that was significantly different from the control isindicated as the activity of the compound. Compounds that did notincrease hexobarbital-sleep time at doses up to 100 mg/kg are noted with"-" in the activity column. Some of the compounds exhibited toxicity,and this is noted by an asterisk in the activity column. Toxicity wasdefined as more than one death per dose group, and additional deaths inhigher dose groups.

                  TABLE 1                                                         ______________________________________                                         ##STR24##                                                                    IP                                                                            Num-                                                                          ber   R.sup.2       R.sup.14   R.sup.8                                                                              Activity                                ______________________________________                                        100-4 OCH.sub.3     CH.sub.3   H      "--"                                    100-5 H                                                                                            ##STR25## H       10*                                    100-6 H                                                                                            ##STR26## COCH.sub.3                                                                           100                                     100-20                                                                               ##STR27##                                                                                   ##STR28## H      100*                                    ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE 2                                                         ______________________________________                                        Phenylethylamine Derivative                                                    ##STR29##                                                                    IP #   R.sup.2                                                                             R.sup.3                                                                             R.sup.10       Activity, mg/kg                             ______________________________________                                        IP-100--7                                                                            H     H                                                                                    ##STR30##     30                                          IP-100-10                                                                            H     H                                                                                    ##STR31##     100                                         IP-100-22                                                                            H     F                                                                                    ##STR32##      10*                                        IP-100-23                                                                            F     H                                                                                    ##STR33##      3*                                         IP-100-24                                                                            F     H                                                                                    ##STR34##     30                                          IP-100-25                                                                            H     F                                                                                    ##STR35##     10                                          IP-100-26                                                                            F     H                                                                                    ##STR36##     30                                          IP-100-27                                                                            H     F                                                                                    ##STR37##      10*                                        IP-100-28                                                                            H     F                                                                                    ##STR38##      3                                          IP-100-29                                                                            F     H                                                                                    ##STR39##     10                                          IP-100-32                                                                            H     F                                                                                    ##STR40##      10*                                        IP-100-33                                                                            H     F                                                                                    ##STR41##     30                                          IP-100-34                                                                            H     F                                                                                    ##STR42##      30*                                        IP-100-40                                                                            H     F                                                                                    ##STR43##      3*                                         IP-100-44                                                                            H     F                                                                                    ##STR44##     30                                          IP-100-49                                                                            H     F                                                                                    ##STR45##     100                                         IP-100-50                                                                            H     F                                                                                    ##STR46##      3                                          IP-100-62                                                                            H     F                                                                                    ##STR47##      30*                                        IP-100-66                                                                            F     H                                                                                    ##STR48##     100                                         IP-100-67                                                                            H     F                                                                                    ##STR49##     100                                         ______________________________________                                    

                                      TABLE 3                                     __________________________________________________________________________     ##STR50##                                                                                                                               Activ-             IP                                                         ity,               Number                                                                             "m"                                                                              R.sup.2                                                                           R.sup.5   R.sup.6   (CH.sub.2).sub.nR.sup.7    mg/kg              __________________________________________________________________________    IP-100-11                                                                          1  H   H         H                                                                                        ##STR51##                 "--"               IP-100-12                                                                          1  H                                                                                  ##STR52##                                                                              H                                                                                        ##STR53##                 "--"               IP-100-13                                                                          1  H                                                                                  ##STR54##                                                                              H                                                                                        ##STR55##                 "--"               IP-100-14                                                                          1  H                                                                                  ##STR56##                                                                              H                                                                                        ##STR57##                 30                 IP-100-15                                                                          1  H                                                                                  ##STR58##                                                                              H                                                                                        ##STR59##                 "--"               IP-100-19                                                                          1  H   COCH.sub.3                                                                              H                                                                                        ##STR60##                  "--"*             IP-100-53                                                                          1  H   H         H                                                                                        ##STR61##                  "--"*             IP-100-54                                                                          1  H   H         H                                                                                        ##STR62##                 100                IP-100-56                                                                          1  H   H         H                                                                                        ##STR63##                 100*               IP-100-63                                                                          1  H   H                                                                                        ##STR64##                                                                              CH.sub.2CH.sub.2NH.sub.2    30*               IP-100-68                                                                          1  OCH.sub.3                                                                         H                                                                                        ##STR65##                                                                              CH.sub.2CH.sub.2NH.sub.2    3*                IP-100-69                                                                          1  F   H         H                                                                                        ##STR66##                 "--"               IP-100-70                                                                          2  H   H         H                                                                                        ##STR67##                 "--"               IP-100-71                                                                          1  H   H         H                                                                                        ##STR68##                 30                 IP-100-72                                                                          2  H   H         H         NHCOO(CH.sub.2).sub.8OCONH "--"               __________________________________________________________________________

                  TABLE 4                                                         ______________________________________                                         ##STR69##                                                                                                              Activity,                           IP #   R.sup.2 R.sup.3                                                                             R.sup.5                                                                           R.sup.6                                                                           R.sup.10     mg/kg                               ______________________________________                                        IP-100-41                                                                            CH.sub.3 O                                                                            H     H   H                                                                                  ##STR70##    10*                                IP-100-42                                                                            OCH.sub.3                                                                             H     H   H   CF.sub.3      10*                                IP-100-57                                                                            H       H     H   H                                                                                  ##STR71##   30                                  IP-100-58                                                                            H       H     H   H                                                                                  ##STR72##   30                                  IP-100-64                                                                            H       H     H   H                                                                                  ##STR73##   100                                 IP-100-65                                                                            H       H     H   H                                                                                  ##STR74##   "--"                                ______________________________________                                    

                                      TABLE 5                                     __________________________________________________________________________    Tryptamine-CARBAMATE (INDLCARB.TBL)                                            ##STR75##                                                                                                          Activity,                               IP # R.sup.2                                                                           R.sup.3                                                                         R.sup.5                                                                         R.sup.6                                                                         R.sup.13 o  m  p     X mg/kg                                   __________________________________________________________________________    IP-100-1                                                                           H   H H H H        H  H  OCH.sub.3                                                                           1 10                                      IP-100-2                                                                           CH.sub.3 O                                                                        H H H H        H  H  H     1 100                                     IP-100-3                                                                           CH.sub.3 O                                                                        H H H H        H  H  OCH.sub.3                                                                           1 100                                     IP-100-8                                                                           HO  H H H H        H  H  H     1 "--"                                    IP-100-9                                                                           F   H H H H        H  H  H     1 10                                      IP-100-16                                                                          H   F H H H        H  H  H     1 10                                      IP-100-17                                                                          F   H H H H        H  H  OCH.sub.3                                                                           1 10                                      IP-100-18                                                                          F   H H H H        H  H  F     1  3*                                     IP-100-21                                                                          Cl  H H H H        H  H  H     1  10*                                    IP-100-30                                                                          H   H H H H        H  H  Cl    1  3*                                     IP-100-31                                                                          H   H H H H        H  H  CH.sub.3                                                                            1  10*                                    IP-100-35                                                                          H   H H H H        H  H  CH(CH.sub.3).sub.2                                                                  1 100                                     IP-100-36                                                                          H   H H H H        H  CH.sub.3                                                                         CH.sub.3                                                                            1 30                                      IP-100-37                                                                          H   H H H H        H  H  CF.sub.3                                                                            1  3                                      IP-100-38                                                                          F   H H H H        H  H  NO.sub.2                                                                            1  3                                      IP-100-39                                                                          H   H H H H        H                                                                                 ##STR76##                                                                             1 30                                      IP-100-43                                                                          H   H H H SCH.sub.3                                                                              H  H  H     1  10                                     IP-100-45                                                                          OCH.sub.3                                                                         H H H                                                                                ##STR77##           0 30                                      IP-100-46                                                                          H   H H H RCH.sub.3                                                                              H  H  H     1  10*                                    IP-100-47                                                                          H   H H Br                                                                              H        H  H  H     1  30*                                    IP-100-48                                                                          H   H H H                                                                                ##STR78##           0 "--"                                    IP-100-51                                                                          F   H H H                                                                                ##STR79##           0 100                                     IP-100-52                                                                          F   H H H                                                                                ##STR80##           0 100                                     100-59                                                                             H   H H H                                                                                ##STR81##           0 100*                                    100-60                                                                             H   H H Br                                                                               ##STR82##           0 10                                      100-61                                                                             F   H H Br                                                                              H        H  H  H     1                                         __________________________________________________________________________

UTILITY

The compounds of the present invention are generally useful in thetreatment of indications including (but not limited to): 1.chronobiological-based disorders (e.g., jet lag, delayed sleep syndrome,shift-work, seasonal affective disorder); 2. central nervous system andpsychiatric disorders (e.g., sleep disorders, epilepsy and otherconvulsive disorders, anxiety, psychiatric diseases, neurodegenerativediseases, fever); 3. endocrine indications (e.g, contraception andinfertility, precocious puberty, premenstrual syndrome,hyperprolactinemia, growth hormone deficiency); 4. cancer and otherproliferative diseases; 5. immune system disorders and conditionsassociated with senescence; 6. ophthalmological diseases; and 7. animalbreeding (e.g., regulation of fertility, puberty, pelage color).

Compounds of the present invention are useful as sedatives or hypnotics.These activities were measured using generally accepted techniques knownto those skilled in the art. For instance, the activity of compoundsuseful as sedatives or hypnotics can be measured using abarbituate-induced loss of righting reflex assay (e.g. Hermansen, ActaPharmacol. Toxicol. 27:453-460, 1969), which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety, and as described below. Another assay whichis useful for predicting sedative activity is the generally acceptedRotarod Assay, which is described in Watzman et al., Arch. Int.Pharmacodyn. Ther. 169:362-374, 1967, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety, and as described below.

Hexobarbital Sleep Assay

A known effect of sedatives and hypnotics is to potentiate the hypnoticeffects of a barbituate, like hexobarbital, in mice. Mice will stay ontheir backs (loss of righting reflex) when given hexobarbital. Increasesin sleep duration (loss of righting reflex) indicate sedative/hypnoticactivity. Increases in the length of time the mice remain on their backspredict sleep-inducing compounds.

Various doses of (1) melatonin and (2) IP-100-9 were administeredintraperitoneally (FIGS. 1 and 3) and orally (FIGS. 2 and 4), followedafter 10 minutes by intraperitoneal injection of 120 mg/kg hexobarbital.The latency to recovery of righting (i.e. "sleep time") was thenmeasured. When introduced intraperitoneally, the minimum effective doseof melatonin was 30 mg/kg, whereas for IP-100-9 it was 10 mg/kg.Melatonin was much less potent when administered orally. Thus therequired oral dosage of melatonin to obtain a significant effect was 100mg/kg, whereas, in contrast, for IP-100-9, it was again 10 mg/kg.

Forced Motor Activity:

Rotarod Assay

Mice were injected intraperitoneally with varying dosages of (1)melatonin or (2) IP-100-9 and were thereafter placed upon a slowlyrotating rod (6 r.p.m.). The length of time the mice are able to remainupon the rod up to a maximum of 60 seconds is an indication of thesedative effect of these compounds. As shown in FIG. 5, no significanteffect was seen with melatonin until a dosage of 225 mg/kg wasadministered. In contrast, as demonstrated in FIG. 6, administration ofonly 30 mg/kg of IP-100-9 was required in order to obtain a significanteffect.

The results indicate that compounds of the present invention possesssedative/hypnotic activity.

DOSAGE AND FORMULATION

Compounds of formulae I and II can be administered by any means thatproduces contact of the active agent with the agent's site of action inthe body of a subject. They can be administered by any conventionalmeans available for use in conjunction with pharmaceuticals, either asindividual therapeutic agents or in combination with other therapeuticagents. They can be administered alone, but are generally administeredwith a pharmaceutical carrier selected on the basis of the chosen routeof administration and standard pharmaceutical practice. Thepharmaceutical compositions of the invention may be adapted for oral,parenteral, rectal, transdermal and nasal administration, and may be inunit dosage form, as well known to those skilled in the pharmaceuticalart.

In general, a pharmacologically effective daily dose can be from about0.01 mg/kg to about 25 mg/kg per day, bearing in mind, or course, thatin selecting the appropriate dosage in any specific case, considerationmust be given to the subject's weight, general health, metabolism, ageand other factors which influence response to the drug.

Preferred embodiment of this invention is the provision ofpharmaceutical compositions in dosage unit form which comprise fromabout 0.5 mg to about 500 mg of a compound of the above formulae.

The active ingredient can be administered orally in solid dosage forms,for example, as tablets, capsules or powders, or in liquid dosage forms,such as aqueous or oily suspensions, disperse powders or granules,emulsions, hard or soft capsules, or syrups or elixirs.

Compositions intended for oral use may be prepared according to anymethod known to the art for the manufacture of pharmaceuticalcompositions and such compositions may contain one or more agentsselected from the group consisting of sweetening agents, flavoringagents, coloring agents, and preserving agents in order to provide apharmaceutically elegant and palatable preparation. Tablets contain theactive ingredient in admixture with non-toxic pharmaceuticallyacceptable excipients which are suitable for manufacture of tablets.

These excipients may be, for example, inert diluents, such as calciumcarbonate, sodium carbonate, lactose, calcium phosphate, or sodiumphosphate; granulating disintegrating agents, e.g., maize starch, oralginic acid; binding agents, such as starch, gelatin, or acacia; andlubricating agents, for example, magnesium stearate, stearic acids ortalc. The tablets may be uncoated or they may be coated by knowntechniques to delay disintegration and adsorption in thegastrointestinal tract. Thereby a sustained action over a longer periodcan be provided.

Formulations for oral use can also be presented as hard gelatin capsuleswherein the active ingredient is mixed with an inert solid diluent,e.g., calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, or kaolin, or as softgelatin capsules wherein the active ingredient is mixed with an oilmedium, such as arachis oil, liquid paraffin or olive oil.

Aqueous suspensions contain the active compound in admixture withexcipients suitable for the manufacture of aqueous suspensions. Suchexcipients are suspending agents, e.g., sodium carboxymethylcellulose,methylcellulose, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, sodium alginate,polyvinylpyrrolidone, gum tragacanth, and gum acadia; dispersing orwetting agents, such as a naturally-occurring phosphatide, e.g.,lecithin, or condensation products of an alkylene oxide with fattyacids, for example of polyoxyethylene stearate, or a condensationproducts of ethylene oxide with long chain aliphatic alcohols, e.g.,heptadecaethyleneoxycetanol, or condensation products of ethylene oxidewith partial esters derived from fatty acids and a hexitol, e.g.,polyoxyethylene sorbitol monooleate, or a condensation product ofethylene oxide with partial esters derived from fatty acids and hexitolanhydrides, e.g., polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate. The aqueoussuspensions can also contain one or more preservatives, for exampleethyl, n-propyl, or p-hydroxy benzoate, one or more coloring agents, oneor more flavoring agents, and one or more sweetening agents, such assucrose, saccharin, or sodium or calcium cyclamate.

Disperse powders and granules suitable for preparation of an aqueoussuspension by the addition of water provide the active ingredient inadmixture with a dispersing or wetting agent, suspending agent and oneor more preservatives. Suitable dispersing or wetting agents andsuspending agents are exemplified by those already mentioned above.Additional excipients, for example, sweetening, flavoring, and coloringagents, can also be present.

Syrups and elixirs can be formulated with sweetening agents, such asglycerol, sorbitol or sucrose. Such formulations may also contain ademulcent, a preservative and flavoring and coloring agents. Thepharmaceutical compositions can be in the form of a sterile injectablepreparation, for example, as a sterile injectable aqueous suspension.This suspension can be formulated according to the known art using thosesuitable dispersing or wetting agents and suspending agents which havebeen mentioned above. The sterile injectable preparation can also be asterile injectable solution or suspension in a non-toxicparenterally-acceptable diluent or solvent, for example, as a solutionin 1,3-butane diol.

The pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention also includecompositions for delivery across cutaneous or mucosal epitheliaincluding transdermal, intranasal, sublingual, buccal, and rectaladministration. Such compositions may be part of a transdermal device,patch, topical formulation, gel, etc. with appropriate excipients. Thus,the compounds of the present invention can be compounded with apenetration-enhancing agent such as 1-n-dodecylazacyclopentan-2-one orthe other penetration-enhancing agents disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.3,991,203 and 4,122,170 which are hereby incorporated by reference intheir entirety to describe penetration-enhancing agents which can beincluded in the transdermal or intranasal compositions of thisinvention.

The pharmaceutical compositions can be tableted or otherwise formulatedso that for every 100 parts by weight of the composition there arepresent between 5 and 95 parts by weight of the active ingredient. Thedosage unit form will generally contain between 0.5 mg and about 500 mgof the active ingredient of the formula stated above.

From the foregoing formulation discussion, it is apparent that thecompositions of this invention can be administered orally,transdermally, transmucosally, or parenterally. The term parenteral asused herein includes subcutaneous injection, intravenous, intramuscular,or intracisternal injection or infusion techniques.

All references cited in the present application are incorporated byreference in their entirety.

The foregoing disclosure includes all the information deemed essentialto enable those skilled in the art to practice the claimed invention.Various modifications of the invention in addition to those shown anddescribed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art from theforegoing description. Such modifications are also intended to fallwithin the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A compound of the following formula ##STR83## wherein: R¹,R², R³ and R⁴ are independently hydrogen, halogen, hydroxy, alkoxy oralkyaryl;R⁵ is hydrogen, alkyl, alkylaryl or acetyl; R⁶ is hydrogen,alkyl, alkylaryl or halogen; n is 0 to 2; m is 1 to 2; R⁷ is --NHR⁸,##STR84## l is 0 to 2; R⁸ is hydrogen, ##STR85## or R⁹ ; R⁹ is alkylene,aryl, alkylaryl, alkylcycloalkyl, ##STR86## R¹⁰ is cycloalkyl, CF₃, CH₃,##STR87## R¹¹ and R¹² are hydrogen; and R¹³ is alkyoxy, hydroxy,hydrogen, thioalkyl, alkylcycloalkyl or ##STR88## n' is 0 to 2; with theproviso that if R⁶ is hydrogen, R⁷ is --NHR⁸ and R⁸ is ##STR89## thenR¹³ is not hydrogen; if n is 2, then R¹⁰ is not cycloalkyl, CF₃ or##STR90## where n' is 1 to 2; if m is 1, R⁹ is not alkylene.
 2. Acompound of claim 1 having the following formula: ##STR91## wherein: R¹,R², R³ and R⁴ are independently hydrogen, halogen hydroxy or alkoxy;R⁵is hydrogen; R⁶ is hydrogen or halogen; x is 0 or 1; R¹¹ and R¹² areindependently hydrogen, --NO₂, alkoxy, CF₃, alkyl, halogen or R¹¹ takentogether with R¹² is ##STR92## and R¹³ is hydrogen, thioalkyl,alkylcycloalkyl or ##STR93## with the proviso that if R⁶ is hydrogen,R¹³ is not hydrogen.
 3. A compound of claim 1 having the followingformula: ##STR94## wherein R¹, R², R³ and R⁴ are independently hydrogenor alkoxy;R⁵ is hydrogen; R⁶ is hydrogen; R¹⁰ is ##STR95## R¹¹ and R¹²are hydrogen; and R¹³ is alkoxy or hydroxy.
 4. A compound whichis:N-(p-Methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine;N-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)-5-methoxytryptamine;N-(p-methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl)-5-methoxytryptamine;N-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)-5-hydroxytryptamine;N-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)-5-fluorotryptamine; 3-(5-tetrazolyl)indole;1-benzyl-3-(1-benzyl-5-tetrazolyl)indole;1-benzyl-3-(2-benzyl-5-tetrazolyl)indole;1-benzyl-3-(5-tetrazolyl)indole;1-benzyl-3-[5-2-methyl-1,3,4-oxadiazolyl)indole;N-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)-6-fluorotryptamine;N-(p-methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl)-5-fluorotryptamine;N-(4-Fluorobenzyloxycarbonyl)-5-fluorotryptamine;1-acetyl-3-[5-2-methyl-1,3,4 oxadiazolyl)indole;N-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)-5-chlorotryptamine;N-(p-Chlorobenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine;(p-Methylbenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine;N-(p-Isopropylbenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine;N-(3,4-Dimethylbenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine;N-(p-Trifluoromethylbenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine;N-(p-Nitrobenzyloxycarbonyl)-5-fluorotryptamine;N-(3,4-methylenedioxybenzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine;N-[(S)-α-Methylbenzyloxycarbonyl]tryptamine;N-Cyclopropanemethyloxycarbonyl)-5-methoxytryptamine;N[(R)-α-methylbenzyloxycarbonyl]tryptamine;2-Bromo-N-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)tryptamine;N-[(S)-(-)-1,4-(nitrophenyl)-2-pyrrolidinemethyloxycarbonyl]tryptamine;N-Cyclopentylmethyloxycarbonyl-5-fluorotryptamine;N-Cyclobutylmethyloxycarbonyl-5-fluorotryptamine;N-(Benzenesulfonyl)tryptamine;N-(1-(R)-Methoxy-1-phenylacetyl)tryptamine;N-(1-(S)-Methoxy-1-phenylacetyl)tryptamine;N-Cyclopropylmethyloxycarbonyltryptamine;2-Bromo-N-cyclopropylmethyloxycarbonyltryptamine;2-Bromo-5-fluoro-N-benzyloxycarbonyltryptamine; 2-benzyltryptamine;N-[(S)-mandeloyl]tryptamine; N-[(R)-mandeloyl]tryptamine;2-benzyl-5-methoxytryptamine;1-[5-Fluoro-3-(2'-ethyl)indolyl]-3-benzylurea;Di-[N-(methyleneoxycarbonyl)-tryptamine]-1,4-cis-cyclohexane; ordi-[N-(methyleneoxycarbonyl)-tryptamine]-N-octane.
 5. A method oftreating mammals for sleep disorders which method comprisesadministering a therapeutically effective amount of a compound ofclaim
 1. 6. A method of treating mammals for sleep disorders whichmethod comprises administering a therapeutically effective amount of acompound of claim
 2. 7. A method of treating mammals for sleep disorderswhich method comprises administering a therapeutically effective amountof a compound of claim
 3. 8. A method of treating mammals for sleepdisorders which method comprises administering a therapeuticallyeffective amount of a compound of claim
 4. 9. A pharmaceuticalcomposition useful for treating sleep disorders which compositioncomprises a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of claim 1.10. A pharmaceutical composition useful for treating sleep disorderswhich composition comprises a therapeutically effective amount of acompound of claim
 2. 11. A pharmaceutical composition useful fortreating sleep disorders which composition comprises a therapeuticallyeffective amount of a compound of claim
 3. 12. A pharmaceuticalcomposition useful for treating system sleep disorders which compositioncomprises a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of claim 4.13. A compound of claim 1 which isN-Benzyloxycarbonyl)-5-fluorotryptamine.
 14. A method of treatingmammals for sleep disorders which method comprises administering atherapeutically effective amount a compound of claim
 13. 15. Apharmaceutical composition useful for treating sleep disorders whichcomposition comprises a therapeutically effective amount of a compoundof claim
 13. 16. A method of treating mammals for sleep disorders whichmethod comprises administering a therapeutically effective amount of acompound of selected from the group consisting ofN-(Indole-3-actoyl)D-phenylanine, N-(Indole-3-acetoyl)benzylamine andN-(Indole-3-acetoyl)aniline.
 17. A pharmaceutical composition useful fortreating sleep disorders which composition comprises a therapeuticallyselective amount of a compound of selected from the group consisting ofN-(Indole-3-acetoyl)D-phenylanine, N-(Indole-3-acetoyl)benzylamine andN-(Indole-3-acetoyl)aniline.